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It’s Monday and man do I have a busy week ahead of me! Actually the next few weeks are going to be pretty crazy but I’ll definitely try to make some time and post a few fun projects I’ve been working on! Here’s one that will spruce up your living room and save you some money by doing- it- yourself!

Before:

Step One:Choose pillow

Head to your local fabric store and pick up a few pillows you want to use for this project. They come in several different sizes and are priced according to comfort. If you want to save some money like I did, you can use some throw pillows you already have.

Step Two:Select fabric

The fabric I used for my pillows was leftover from the DIY Door Panel Curtain which you can read about here:

It’s a cotton blend fabric which is super easy to wash and requires no ironing. The amount of fabric you need will depend on the size of the pillows you choose. Take the width of the pillow and add 1″. Then take the height of the pillow double it and add 6″.

Step Three:Measure & Cut

Lay the fabric down and measure it out. As listed above you will need the width of the pillow plus 1″ and the height of the pillow doubled plus 6″.

Step Four:Hem sides

Hem the shorter sides or width of the fabric. Lay down the fabric with the pattern side facing up. Place the pillow on top of the fabric and fold the hemmed sides towards each other. Continue folding the pillow with the fabric until it is tightly wrapped. The fabric will overlap each other which will create an opening to get the pillow in and out of.

Step Five:Pin

Once the pillow is tightly wrapped make sure the fabric matches up and pin it. You want an evenly matched line down the center of the pillow. This will end up being the back of the pillow, so don’t worry too much about getting the fabric to line up perfectly. Carefully slide out the pillow and continue pinning down the long side or length of the fabric. When pinning you will want to come in about a 1/2″ from the top and bottom.

Step Five:Sew

Sew a straight line where you have placed your pins, taking them out as you go. Once your done sewing both sides, flip the fabric inside out so that the pattern side is facing out. Stuff the pillow inside the cover and it’s ready to use!

Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday. With all the sales going on I’m sure many of you are out snatching up great deals, but for those just lounging around today here’s a DIY project for you to get your hands on! The original plan was to make an end table for a bedroom but halfway through my husband wanted to make it multifunctional. So we put a door on it which allows our 10 pound dog Ellie to curl up in and snooze. You can design your table any way you want but here’s how we did ours…

Before:

Step One: Obtain

The wood we used for our end table were scrap pieces leftover from previous projects. The sides of the table are 1×3’s that were recycled from an old pallet, and the front and back of the table are 1×6’s from an old barn door. The legs that support the table are 2×4’s that we had just lying around. The purpose of this project is to use odd and end pieces of wood, so don’t worry too much on what the wood looks like.

Step Two:Cut

Now that you have the wood you need to cut it down to size. Using a circular saw, Ryan cut the scrap pieces of wood all down to the same length. If you want to make the exact table you see below cut the 1×3’s and 1×6’s down to 17 inches. You will need 12 1×3’s, 9 1×6’s and 4 2×4’s. Then take 3 of the 1×6’s and cut them down to 14 1/2 inches to use as a door. To make the legs cut the 2×4’s to 24 inches.

Step Three:Sand

Using 80 grit sandpaper sand down every piece of wood to create a smooth finish. Remember to always sand with the grain of the wood. After sanding clean the wood off by using an air compressor or wet towel.

Step Four:Assemble

To assemble the sides:

You will be using all of the 2×4’s and 10 of the 1×3’s. Lay out 2 2×4’s parallel to each other. Take a 1×3 and screw it in flush with the tops of each 2×4 as this will be the top of your table. Ryan used a 2×2 piece of wood as a template to evenly space out the 1×3’s. Take the template piece of wood and place it next to the 1×3 you already have screwed in. Take another 1×3 and place it right next to the template piece and screw it in. Repeat this process for the other 2 2×4 legs and 8 remaining 1×3’s.

To assemble the back:

You will need 3 1×6’s. Screw a 1×6 flush with the top and bottom of each side. Take the last 1×6 and place it in the middle of the two previously screwed 1×6’s to create even spacing.

To assemble the top:

You will need 3 1×6’s. Lay them out side by side on top of the legs and screw them into place.

To assemble the door:

Take the 3 1×6 boards cut specifically for the door and line them up width wise. Take the last 2 1×3’s and place them evenly spaced apart onto the back of the door length wise. Screw them into place making sure you don’t screw all the way through to the front. Now you should have a sturdy door to attach hinges to. Screw the hinges on the door first and then to the leg of the table.

Step Five: Seal

Now that the end table is put together before you can take it inside to use you must first seal it with a coat of polyurethane. You can grab a can from your local hardware store and apply it with a paint brush, or you can get the spray on kind and apply it like spray paint. Just follow the directions on the back of the can. Allow the table to completely dry before displaying it in your house!

It’s a Thirsty Thursday DIY! I simply can’t think of a better way to kick off the long holiday weekend, then with yet another way to re-purpose old beverage bottles. So grab some friends and enjoy the wine, because here’s what you can do with the leftover bottles…

Before:

Step One: Collect

Whether enjoying the wine yourself or recycling from others, gather up at least three bottles for this project. I decided to use three different wine bottles for my DIY, but feel free to use whatever you like!

Step Two: Clean

Once you have your bottles soak them in soapy hot water to remove any labels or sticky residue. Anything left on the bottles will become very noticeable once you use spray paint, so make sure you clean them well. After cleaning allow the bottles to sit overnight to ensure they are completely dry.

Step Three: Coat

Head to your local craft store to pick up a plastic tarp and a few bottles of spray paint. There are several different colors and textures to choose from so get creative! As pictured below, I used a glossy spray paint in platinum, and then a shimmer spray paint in blue and bronze. To get started I hung the plastic tarp in the garage as a backdrop and used newspaper to set the bottles on. I followed the directions on the back of the spray paint can and applied one coat of paint to each bottle. If you want a bolder color all you have to do is add more, just allow time for the paint to dry between each coat. Let the bottles sit overnight to dry and then they are ready to be displayed!

This DIY project is centered around finding a window treatment solution for those tricky doors in your house. In my kitchen I have a door with a large single window in it, which made it difficult to find something to cover it. Not only did I want to block out the light and people seeing in my kitchen, I also wanted something to match the theme I had going on. In order to accomplish both of these things I only had one option, which was to make it myself. With that said I did enlist sewing help from my younger sister Kaycee. The only thing I can sew by myself is a button, so if your anything like me it’s best to ask for a little help with this project!

Here’s the step by step instructions to make your very own…

Before:

Step One: Measure window

Grab a tape measure and measure the part of the door you want covered. Write down those measurements on a piece of paper and then add six inches. These extra inches are to allow enough room to create an opening on the top and bottom of the curtain for the rod to slide through. For my door I used 60 inches for height and 35 inches for width.

Step Two: Select fabric

Take your measurements and make a trip to the local craft/fabric store to purchase some fabric. Use these measurements to find out how many yards of fabric you will need. For my curtain I chose to use one and a half yards of a cotton blend fabric that’s easy to wash and blocks most of the light from coming in. You will also need to pick up matching thread to sew your curtain with.

Step Three: Find hardware

Finding the proper hardware for your curtain may require a little trial and error. Take home a few different options you think might work to save yourself multiple trips. I found that using a rod with mounting hardware rather than a tension rod worked the best.

Step Four: Prep fabric

Lay your fabric down facing backside up on a table and grab a ruler. Take the ruler and mark three inches from the top and bottom on the fabric. Fold it down to meet the mark and place pins every two inches or so to hold the fabric in place. You should now have a row of pins on the top and bottom of the fabric which gives you a template to follow.

Step Five: Sew together

Now thread the sewing machine and begin sewing in a straight line all the way down the width of the fabric. Once you reach the end of the fabric cut your thread and repeat this process to reinforce the seam.

Step Six: Hang up

Attach the brackets for the curtain rod to the door. Slide your curtain onto the curtain rod and hook it to the brackets. You can repeat this process on the bottom section of the door as well, depending on how you want the curtain displayed. As you can see below, I chose to go with a single curtain rod and cinched the curtain together in the middle with a piece of fabric. As a finishing touch I added a clip-on flower to tie everything together!

It’s Thursday and the work week is almost over! I’ve got so many new projects I can’t wait to get started on this weekend, but here’s one of my favorite DIY home decor projects for you to try in the meantime. It’s one of my favorite because it involves one of my not so secret obsessions…glass bottles! Actually the other night Ryan and I were eating dinner and he said, “If someone who didn’t know us very well walked into our house they would assume we have a heavy drinking problem with all the empty bottles sitting around.” Alright so I admit that I do get a little carried away sometimes but I simply can’t help it! Anyway this project is also quick, easy, and totally versatile. So here’s how to make your very own…

Before:

Step One: Find

The bottle you choose can be anything from a simple beer bottle to a unique whiskey bottle like the one you see above. It all depends on preference.

Step Two: Clean

Soak the bottle in hot water and dish soap for about an hour. Using a washcloth remove any label or glue that’s still attached to the bottle and let it air dry.

Step Three: Decorate

Decide where you want to display the bottle and then draw inspiration from it. I used peacock feathers to fill my bottle because they tied in nicely with the teal pillows on the couch!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! My husband and I finally had a nice relaxing weekend with absolutely no plans. This lately has been a rare occurrence and allowed us to get some home projects completed. One of those projects were floating wall cubes that I have been seeing all over the department stores for quite some time now. This sparked an idea to build some myself and save a few bucks in the process.

Here are the step by step instructions on how to make your very own floating wall cubes…

Before:

Step One:Gather wood

To regain some much needed room in the garage and save a little money we dug through the piles of wood to find chunks of leftover plywood. If on the other hand you need to purchase wood for this project, measure out the number of inches of wood you will need and round up to allow room for error.

Step Two:Measure, Measure, Measure

Without a doubt this is by far the most important step in the project! Make sure you measure correctly and always double check your work. We based the measurements for our cubes specifically off of three items I wanted displayed on the wall. Once you have picked out the items you want, then you can decide on how much space you want in-between the cube and your item. I chose to leave about an inch on each side and two inches on the top.

Step Three:Saw

We used a circular saw to cut the plywood. As you can see from the picture below, Ryan penciled on the exact measurements and outlined all the sides. This gave him a guide to follow which made it much easier to cut. After all the sides of one cube are cut make sure you stack them together so that you don’t get all the cubes mixed up.

Step Four:Nail together

We used a nail gun to secure all the sides together, but if you don’t have access to one you can also use a good ole hammer and nails. We used nails instead of screws to create a clean flush finish, which makes it sand and stain easier.

Step Five:Sand

We used 80 grit sandpaper to do the job along with some arm muscle. As with any sanding project make sure you sand with the grain of the wood and not against. Before moving on to the next step make sure that you remove any dust you created from sanding by using an air compressor or wet towel.

Step Six:Stain

Once you have all three cubes sanded and cleaned it’s time to stain! There are so many types of stains out there to choose from it can almost be overwhelming but don’t let it scare you. Just find a color you like and go with it! I would recommend selecting a stain that is 2-in-1, meaning it has polyurethane in it. This will save you time when applying the stain. For my cubes I decided to go with a gray stain and only applied one coat.

Step Seven:Drill

In order to hang these cubes flush on the wall to create the floating effect you must first attach the proper hardware. We searched our local craft store and found a 32 piece ring hangers and frame backs set. Inside the set we found that the keyhole hangers proved to work the best! Once you have found the hardware you need to hang the cubes you have to attach them to the backside. Ryan used a 3/8 drill bit to drill out holes where the screws will nestle into. After drilling out the holes you can now place the keyhole hanger over the holes and screw them into place.

Step Eight:Display

You’ve done it! The cubes are all put together, sanded, stained and ready to hang. All you have to do now is display it on the wall. Once you figure out which wall and how you want the cubes displayed next to each other, you must map out where to place the screws. Ryan used a level and marked the center of the two hangers that are attached to the cube. Now that the marks are made on the wall put the screws into place and hang the cubes. The cubes should just slide right into place. Once hung on the wall place the items you have chosen into the cubes and your finished!

I’ve decided to post my first DIY project and what better way to start then by picking my favorite refurbishment piece…wooden pallets! Pallets are so versatile and can only be limited by your imagination!

For this project I used the pallet as a decorative wall hanging in my master bedroom. It’s the focal point in the bedroom and we loved how it turned out!

Here’s how we did it…

Before:

Step One:Locate

The first step is simple locate a pallet! Pallets can be found in all sorts of places so make sure you check around at department stores, small local businesses, and empty lots near new construction. Most of the time these places will just end up throwing pallets away so you should be able to get them at no cost!

Step Two: Prep

Now that you have found a pallet, you need to prep it for use. This means fully inspecting the pallet for any issues that might stand in the way. Unless you have a new pallet to use don’t over look this step!

Step Three: Sand

To save us time and upper body strength, we used an all purpose tool called a SoniCrafter which has a sanding attachment. If you don’t have a tool like this at home, you can simply use 80 grit sandpaper and some muscle. Use an up and down arm motion and sand with the grain of the wood. The goal of sanding is to expose the integrity of the wood and bring it back to it’s original glory!

Step Four:Clean

You must clean the pallet off before you can seal or stain it! We recommend using an air compressor to insure that all the dust is removed creating a smooth finish. If you don’t have access to an air compressor the next best option would be a wet towel. It may take several wet towels to completely clean your pallet but it will be well worth the work!

Step Five:Apply

We liked the raw color of wood on our pallet and wanted a rustic look so we decided not to stain it. Instead we used one coat of polyurethane to seal and protect it. After applying the stain or polyurethane, allow your pallet to dry overnight and it’s ready to hang. We located the studs and screwed the pallet directly to the wall.

Step Six:Decorate

The final step in this project may prove to be the most difficult, but it’s also the most rewarding! To decorate the pallet you see below, I used old beer bottles as flower vases and found all the other items at a local craft store. I soaked the bottles in hot water and dish soap to remove the labels. Printed off a few 4×6 pictures and cut them down to fit in the frames. Then arranged all the items until I was happy with it. Just find pieces you love and never be afraid to try new ideas!